Tuesday, May 15, 2007

If Tuff Luck could be considered obscure, then this short-lived Pasadena hard rock unit is so unknown that their existence is almost mythical. There's practically no biographical information available regarding this band, but I believe the lineup included a future member of House of Lords and Freak of Nature. Though this band is nothing extraordinary, the elusiveness of this LP has stirred up a fair amount of cult interest. Released on New Renaissance Records in 1986, here it is. Download and you be the judge.

11 comments:

These guys are going to re relase this 1986 album ...they are still around the guitarist builds choppers ..and one of the other band members is in Fan Halen .... this Band became Tara I remember I went to see them on a regular basis

V.V.S.I. was definitely not obscure on the Hollywood club scene in the early to mid-80's. They frequently played at The Troubadour and The Roxy. I saw them a number of times. They were high-energy, flashy and very polished. It's unfortunate they didn't have more success, because they were a really good band. From what I recall, the songs on their album were more mid-tempo than their typical live set, and the album features a lineup that is less the bass player and drummer (Chris Moore) that were in the band most of their clubbing career.

I believe that was the line-up and most or all of the guys were from my hometown of Sierra Madre, Ca. I was just a kid when they were playin backyard kegger parties! Wow, what cool memories. And now I got the recordings again. I actually had their cassette at one time! Acey Ducey Productions!

Chris Moore has a current band, Cry Wolf The Band playing at The Gaslamp in Long Beach on June 21st

I had this album also, once upon a tyme, But it was minus my friend Robin on bass, and lacked the intense high energy of theyre live show! I saw them many times at BAM magazine Battle of the Bands Ice House Pasadena, as well at The Troubador. They turned me on to the whole metal scene! Bands Like Armored Saint, Ratt, Great White, Steeler, and Motley Crue were playing the same clubs!

Ha ha. I use to hang out with these cats. Larry Cornwall from Wisconsin replaced Chris on drums.. Tommy I know went to a band called nomad rails for a while. Dennis auditioned for Ozzy but didn't make it against Zakk.

Your right J. there hasn’t been much info to find in the past years on the internet, the only thing I found a few years back were 5 old mp3 demo’s which were available for a while until the band withdrew them, though at present that is changing, the band seemed to have reformed and can be found on face book, several video’s live from the 80’s can be found on you tube.

In my opinion I think you have been a little harsh J. in saying this band were nothing extraordinary, a few listens to this LP, the more you realize how much of a masterpiece it really is, the sound is very unique on all fronts, as well the lyrics and style of the tracks, I purchased this LP in the UK when it first came out, I was blown away with it as soon as I heard it, it’s a classic rock masterpiece, the more you listen to it, the more you get hooked, and you never get tired of hearing, all credit to this band back in the day for what they were trying to achieve, I think they set themselves apart from any other band around at the time, you couldn’t compare to V.V.S.I.‘s sound and style of music to any other rock act, unlike most rock bands which you could, that’s what made this LP and band something really special.

Dennis Chick, the guitarist, yes was part of Mike Tramp’s Freak Of Nature, I was lucky enough to see one of their shows in Newcastle, UK in the 90’s, it was such a thrill after hearing Dennis Chick’s playing on the V.V.S.I. LP for so many years beforehand, he didn’t disappoint, amazing guitar player with his own unique style, one of the best guitarist’s I’ve ever heard.

Great to see the band back together now and let’s hope we’ll see more old and new material surface!

Subscribe To Me!

The Lowdown

"Robots For Ronnie" does not knowingly post items that are commercially available. If you are the legal copyright holder and wish to have the content removed, contact the owner of this blog and we will comply.